⚠️ Japan finance firms add AI translation and QR payments

📊 PayPay has added UnionPay QR payments across participating Japanese merchants while SMBC has begun deploying an OpenAI-powered interpreter to bank employees. The two companies have not announced a partnership between the products. PayPay’s expansion concerns payments made by overseas visitors, while SMBC’s application handles spoken communication between bank employees and customers.

📣 Travelers can register UnionPay cards issued in mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau within the UnionPay App. At participating PayPay merchants, they can scan or present a payment code to complete purchases through the HIVEX network. PayPay said the service can be used for purchases such as meals, accommodations and souvenirs. Prices appear in Japanese yen at the merchant, while the customer’s application calculates the amount in their home currency.

❗️ HIVEX connects domestic merchants to overseas mobile-payment services without requiring separate technical integration for every wallet. TBCASoft, which operates the platform, said UnionPay App payments became available at HIVEX-enabled PayPay locations in early September. TBCASoft described the service as reaching more than 500 million linked UnionPay card users. The figure represents cards linked across UnionPay’s issuing network, not confirmed users of PayPay merchants in Japan.

⚠️ Anthropic targets November IPO at potential $2 trillion valuation

📊 Anthropic has moved its planned initial public offering to November as investors discuss a deal that could value the Claude developer at roughly $2 trillion and raise up to $100 billion. People familiar with the preparations told the newspaper that the extra time would allow Anthropic to present third-quarter financial results to prospective investors. The company is expected to begin sharing more detailed financial information in the coming weeks, although the final timetable will depend on market conditions and investor demand.

⭐️ Under the figures being discussed, Anthropic could seek a valuation of about $2 trillion and raise up to $100 billion. A transaction of that size would rank among the largest public offerings on record, but the valuation, share count and final proceeds remain subject to change. Investor meetings are expected to test demand before Anthropic settles the terms of the proposed sale. As part of that process, prospective shareholders are likely to examine the company’s revenue growth, computing costs, customer concentration and spending required to train and operate advanced AI models.

🔗 No public registration statement has been identified for the proposed offering. Until Anthropic files offering documents, details such as the exchange, ticker, underwriting banks, and number of shares will remain unconfirmed.

📌 How will ESMA supervise crypto firms under MiCA in 2027?

📣 The European Securities and Markets Authority has set operational resilience, outsourcing and sufficient EU based operations among its main crypto supervisory priorities for 2027 as the bloc moves further into enforcement of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation.

🌐 ESMA said in its 2027 work program published Monday that its work on MiCA will concentrate on coordinating national regulators and developing more consistent supervision of crypto asset service providers across the European Union. The program comes as the regulator moves from writing and implementing MiCA rules toward overseeing how licensed firms comply with them in practice. Chair Verena Ross described the change during a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, saying ESMA’s MiCA work had moved “from rulemaking towards supervision and convergence.”

⭐️ Operational resilience will be one of the main areas under scrutiny as ESMA works with national competent authorities responsible for supervising CASPs. Outsourcing risks, liquidity, reverse solicitation and the classification of crypto assets are among the other areas identified for coordinated work in 2027. Supervisors will pay attention to whether firms maintain sufficient operations within the EU instead of relying heavily on functions or infrastructure based elsewhere.

⚠️ LuxDrop offers 100% deposit bonus worth up to $1,000

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⚔️ Beyond opening mystery packs, LuxDrop features Pack Battles, LuxSpin, Mines, BlackJack and limited-time deals. Players can also climb daily, weekly and monthly leaderboards, earn XP, level up their accounts and unlock free packs and additional rewards as they play.

💎 LuxDrop also operates a VIP program for active players, featuring tier progression, dedicated VIP support, Lossback, Bonus Packs, promo codes and additional rewards. Regular promotions, giveaways and community events provide more opportunities to earn rewards beyond opening packs.

🌐 New users can access the Telegram promotion by registering at http://luxdrop.com/r/telegram and depositing at least $20. LuxDrop will match 100% of the qualifying deposit up to a maximum bonus of $1,000.

📌 Why is Stacks (STX) going up?

📣 Stacks has gained more than 100% over the past 90 days, backed by institutional Bitcoin Staking that is creating a new use for STX that could grow as more BTC enters future bonding periods. According to CoinGecko data, STX was trading around $0.38 on Oct. 6 after gaining roughly 18% over the previous week. The token had already climbed 108% in the 90 days through Sept. 27.

🌐 Those developments have given traders several Stacks specific catalysts at a time when many major altcoins have struggled to match STX’s gains. Bitcoin Staking is particularly important to the long term case because it gives institutions a way to earn BTC rewards while creating a separate use for STX. However, Bitcoin Staking alone cannot account for the entire 90 day rally on its own. Market conditions and renewed interest in the Stacks ecosystem have contributed to the price action as well. But unlike a short term price catalyst, the staking model creates a measurable link between institutional BTC participation and the amount of STX needed to support it.

➡️ The Genesis Bond has already put that relationship into practice, while Bond 2 and subsequent bonding periods will test whether it can repeat as more Bitcoin enters the program. Bitcoin Staking on Stacks allows BTC holders to earn BTC denominated rewards without changing Bitcoin’s proof of work consensus. Under Stacks’ Proof of Transfer system, miners commit BTC to compete for Stacks blocks and receive STX. The BTC committed through the process becomes the source of rewards distributed through the staking system.

🔔 Pi Network upgrade nears: Will PI price hit $0.10?

📣 Pi Network has entered a crucial week ahead of its scheduled Protocol 28 upgrade on October 16, 2026, while its native PI token continues trading near $0.08 following a prolonged market decline. Pi Network’s official node documentation confirms that Mainnet operators must upgrade their software to Protocol 28, with the rollout scheduled for October 16. The October 13 deadline for node operators comes as the network continues developing smart contract capabilities and exploring stablecoin applications.

🌐 Despite the approaching upgrade, PI has remained under selling pressure, trading at approximately $0.08042, down 7.32% over the past week. The upcoming Protocol 28 rollout is the latest stage of Pi Network’s 2026 blockchain development schedule. The project began the year with Protocol 19.6 in February, followed by versions 19.9 and 20.2 in March. Subsequent updates introduced technical improvements designed to support more advanced applications and smart contracts.

✨ Earlier in the year, Pi Network confirmed that Protocol 20 established the technical foundation for smart contracts, including applications involving subscriptions, escrow and digital assets. The team said these functions would undergo development, community review and testing before becoming available on Mainnet. The next planned release, Protocol 28, has attracted attention from Pi community members. X user Giannis Andreou stated that the upgrade was operating on Testnet, with Mainnet activation expected on October 16. He described improvements to transaction data processing and tools that allow developers to update groups of smart contracts together.

📌 Hyperliquid adds 10 HYPE rule as price falls to $78.98

🔗 Hyperliquid has introduced revised order priority rules on its testnet, including a reported 10 HYPE delegation requirement for traders seeking faster order handling through its priority fee system. In an October 18 announcement circulated through its community channels, the decentralized derivatives platform outlined changes to write priority fees following feedback from users. The proposed rules concern traders who depend on low delays when placing, modifying or canceling orders.

🔖 The announcement identifies four changes involving account settings, transaction processing and eligibility for priority fees. Hyperliquid’s existing technical documentation confirms how its priority fee system operates, although the newly reported delegation threshold has not yet appeared in the publicly accessible documentation reviewed for this report. The changes are described as live on testnet. No confirmed date has been announced for applying the revised requirements to mainnet trading.

‼️ The October 18 update introduces a minimum delegated balance of 10 HYPE for accounts seeking to use IOC and ALO priority fees, according to the announcement. IOC, short for immediate-or-cancel, refers to an order that attempts immediate execution and cancels any portion that cannot be filled. ALO, or add-liquidity-only, is used to place orders that join the order book without immediately taking available liquidity.

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🔔 Bitcoin price reclaims $80K as US GDP beats forecasts

📣 Bitcoin price has reclaimed the $80,000 level after briefly falling below it earlier on Thursday, as fresh US economic data showed stronger than expected growth in the third quarter and persistent inflation in September. The latest figures arrived a day after the Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates unchanged, raising fresh questions about whether the central bank could consider another rate hike before the end of the year.

⚠️ Bitcoin (BTC) had dropped to approximately $79,800 earlier in the session before recovering above $80,000. However, the cryptocurrency remained under pressure following Wednesday’s Fed decision, with traders assessing how the latest economic figures could affect monetary policy. Thursday’s advance GDP estimate showed that the US economy grew faster in the third quarter, supported mainly by consumer spending, business investment, and government expenditure.

🌐 Business investment remained another contributor, particularly as technology companies continued spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and equipment. However, the stronger economic performance was accompanied by inflation figures that showed consumer prices continued to rise in September. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, rose 0.5% month over month, compared with a 0.3% increase in August.

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⭐️ Adam Back criticizes BIP-110 supporters after failed Bitcoin fork

🌐 Blockstream CEO Adam Back has renewed his criticism of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110 (BIP-110), arguing that attempts to impose controversial network changes have repeatedly failed to gain market support. In a November 3 post on X, Back referenced earlier commentary from Bitcoin advocate Francis Pouliot while addressing supporters of the proposed Bitcoin fork.

📌 “Attempts to impose your views on bitcoin get market rejected,” Back wrote, pointing to previous disputes over Bitcoin’s rules. He described Pouliot’s commentary as a “masterclass on bitcoin reality” and said discussions about Bitcoin’s established rules were intended to help people understand immutability. Back’s latest comments followed renewed discussion about BIP-110, a proposal designed to restrict certain forms of non-financial data on Bitcoin.

➡️ He argued that the market would resist efforts to override consensus, even when supporters believed their proposed changes were beneficial.Back further claimed that BIP-110 “failed the first gate hard” because of what he described as serious technical problems. The criticism continued a position he adopted earlier this year, when he warned that the proposal could divide Bitcoin’s network.

⚠️ South Korea demands stronger crypto safeguards following Binance hack

⭐️ South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has directed domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to hold more assets in cold wallets and strengthen their financial reserves following the $6.3 billion Binance hack on October 29. The meeting was chaired by Yu Young-jun, the FSC’s director of digital finance policy, and included representatives from the Financial Supervisory Service, the Financial Security Institute and the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA).

❗️ Officials examined how domestic exchanges manage access to their internal systems, approve cryptocurrency withdrawals and control administrator privileges. Exchanges were subsequently asked to strengthen their security procedures, maintain additional reserves and prepare for suspicious transactions or unauthorized access attempts. Under South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act, cryptocurrency service providers must already hold at least 80% of customers’ deposited digital assets in cold wallets, which remain disconnected from the internet.

📊 The FSC has now asked exchanges to raise their cold storage ratios beyond their existing levels, although the regulator did not announce a new uniform minimum during the meeting. As of the end of September, Upbit held 99.17% of customer assets in cold storage, followed by Bithumb at 94.76% and Coinone at 85%. DigitalEx and GOPAX reported ratios of 82.79% and 80.54%, respectively.

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🌐 BlackRock sees record Bitcoin whale demand for IBIT conversions despite ETF outflows

⚠️ BlackRock has reported record demand from large Bitcoin holders seeking to convert their cryptocurrency into shares of its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), with security concerns driving approximately $3.6 billion in reported transactions. According to Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, demand for in-kind Bitcoin conversions has continued growing despite recent cryptocurrency price declines. Speaking to Barron’s on November 9, Mitchnick said investors increasingly prefer holding Bitcoin exposure through regulated investment products instead of managing large cryptocurrency balances themselves.

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